Cambridge University vice-chancellor received £5000 base pay rise despite hundreds of job cuts

Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice received a £5,000 increase in her base salary while job cuts rose. 

According to Times Higher Education, Prentice received a total pay package worth £507,000 last year. It reported an increase in base pay from £409,000 in the 2023-2024 academic year to £414,000 in the 2024-5 academic year. 

Her overall salary, however, amounted to less than the last academic year. It fell by £70,000 – from £577,000 to £507,000. As 2023 was her first year as Vice-Chancellor, this higher pay package included additional bonuses, like a £42,486 relocation payment. 

While she was overtaken by Oxford Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracy as the highest-paid VC, her income remains one of the highest in the country. Her base pay of £414,000 was the second highest after Oxford’s £427,000. The overall pay package she received was fourth highest on the list after Oxford, UCL, and LSE.

via YouTube

The university’s annual financial reports revealed the Vice-Chancellor’s overall pay was 10.8 times higher than the median pay of staff. 

Rising pay for vice-chancellors has become a trend across UK universities. Manchester’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Duncan Ivison, received a pay rise of £90,000, while KCL’s Professor Shitij Kapur secured a £42,000 raise.

This attracted harsh criticism from unions. Jo Brady, General secretary of the University and College Union said the trend of pay rises “just beggars belief”. She alleged vice-chancellors are “accepting salary bumps and massive bonuses for themselves as the sector goes up in smoke”.

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While Deborah Prentice received an increase in base salary, the university’s annual reports show a rise in staff cuts. In the 2023-4 academic year, 414 staff were made redundant, with the overall amount spent on compensation amounting to £4,455,000. In 2024-5, staff cuts rose by over 15 per cent, with 480 members of staff paid compensation for loss in office. The total amount spent on compensation was £5,940,000, an increase of over 30 per cent from the previous year.

via Unsplash

As well as rising staff cuts, the university reported a financial deficit of £8 million last year. However, while this figure might sound concerning, Cambridge University’s financial situation seems as strong as ever. The £8 million deficit was an improvement from the previous year’s reported £16 million, while the university documented a turnover of £2.6 billion. The university has also recently been named the UK’s top employer in the Financial Time’s Best Employers 2026 survey.

A Cambridge University spokesperson said: “The Vice-Chancellor’s salary is determined by the University Council and informed by careful analysis of pay in the sector.

“As one of the top universities in the world, we need to attract and retain high-performing leaders. The Vice-Chancellor is paid less than the leaders of some other UK universities and far less than her counterparts in North America.”

Deborah Prentice has been approached for comment. 

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Featured image via Youtube and Unsplash